Apollo Billionaire Josh Harris Sells $153 Million in Shares

• February 08 2018
• David Carey

Apollo Global Management LLC co-founder Josh Harris sold a fraction of his stake in the alternative asset giant for about $153 million.

Apollo Global Management LLC co-founder Josh Harris sold a fraction of his stake in the alternative asset giant for about $153 million.

Harris sold 4.5 million shares for $34 a share on Feb. 5, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The sale cut his ownership interest in Apollo to 12.1 percent from 13.2 percent.

Apollo gained 85 percent including reinvested dividends last year, the best stock performance by a U.S.-based alternative asset manager. Harris has divested about one-sixth of his Apollo shares since the firm went public in 2011.

Harris, 53, is one of a trio of billionaires who in 1990 founded New York-based Apollo, which oversees about $250 billion in private equity, credit and real estate assets.

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Leon Black, a 22.8 percent owner, hasn’t sold any of his shares. Marc Rowan, who owned the same size stake as Harris at the time of Apollo’s initial public offering, has shaved his holdings to 10.5 percent.

Harris has invested heavily in ventures outside Apollo, notably sports teams in partnership with David Blitzer, a top executive at Apollo rival Blackstone Group LP.

In September, the pair announced the formation of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which bundled their interests in the National Basketball Association’s Philadelphia 76ers, the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League and the Prudential Center, a sports and concert venue in Newark, New Jersey. They also own a stake in the English Premier League’s Crystal Palace club.

Charles Zehren, a spokesman for Apollo at Rubenstein Associates, declined to comment.